Amid an ongoing gas crisis, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has spoken to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over the phone after sending a letter seeking Malaysia’s cooperation in the energy sector, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Hasan Amit said on Tuesday.
Tarique held the conversation with Anwar at 2pm Bangladesh time after sending the letter on Monday, Amit told reporters at his office.
Following the call, the Malaysian prime minister assured Tarique of extending support after consulting the relevant authorities in his country, the state minister said.
“The letter was handed over to the Malaysian prime minister today by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Education, Primary and Mass Education Mahdi Amin,” Amit said.
He said the government was working round the clock to address the energy crisis, as the shortage has created difficulties for households, industries and power generation.
“The government understands people’s suffering caused by the energy crisis. Addressing this crisis is our priority,” Amit said.
He said people had entrusted the government with the responsibility of easing their hardships, prompting the ministry to work continuously to resolve the situation.
Amit added that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was maintaining regular communication with the ministry over the latest developments.
Bangladesh is currently unable to meet existing gas demand, prompting the government to seek international cooperation to reduce the demand-supply gap, he said.
“We are unable to supply gas according to demand. Therefore, the prime minister has sought assistance from the Malaysian prime minister to minimise the gap between demand and supply,” Amit said.
Replying to a question, he said the government was working to secure opportunities to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Malaysia.
“We are trying to complete the process as quickly as possible. We are also exploring alternative ways through which Malaysia can assist us with its experience, technical expertise and resources. All options remain open,” he said.
Amit said the government was exploring multiple energy sources to reduce dependence on any single option.
“The reason we are suffering today is that we do not have enough alternatives. The situation worsened after a technical fault in an FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit),” he said.
The state minister also said a Japanese delegation, including an adviser to the Japanese prime minister, recently visited Bangladesh to discuss expanding energy cooperation.
“We discussed in detail how we can strengthen energy cooperation. While we are working on FSRUs, the ultimate solution is a land-based LNG terminal. We have sought Japan’s cooperation in this regard,” he said.